Source: Self-Absorbed Boomer
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/tzVM/~3/X4rFV-ktniE/my-movie-career-acquired-by-yales.html

We recently went on a trip back in time at some of the restaurants in the North Heights. Now it’s time to start doing the same down on Montague Street. What was there before today’s eateries? What do the owners want you to order if you stop by? Let’s find out!

Our first stop will be Teresa’s Restaurant (80 Montague Street – Yelp! profile).

Teresa’s Restaurant. Photo by Evan Bindelglass

According to owner Teresa Brzozowska (yes, there is a Teresa!), it was a dry cleaners before she opened the restaurant in 1989.

80 Montague Street, 1967. Photo courtesy NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

Brzozowska is originally from Gdansk, Poland. She came to America in 1980 and settled in Williamsburg, where she has lived ever since. She had what she described as “life experience in the food business.” She worked in delis (German, Jewish, Polish, French, and American) and, in 1985, she opened Teresa’s in the East Village (on 1^st Avenue between 6^th and 7^th). She had some customers and friends who lived in Brooklyn Heights and she found Montague to be a “nice street” and opened the second location. The original bit the dust in 2007, but the second incarnation is still going strong 25 years on. Brzozowska loves the support of the public and said being a “neighborhood place makes business very stable.”

What The Owner Says To Order:
Appetizer: Chicken soup
Entrée: Cheese and blueberry blintzes

ARCHIVE DOCUMENTS: 1988 Certificate of Occupancy | 2000 Certificate of Occupancy (PDFs)

Up next, we don’t have to go far. It’s on to Heights Café (84 Montague Street – website).

Heights Cafe. Photo by Evan Bindelglass

Buildings Department records from 1930 list the first floor as simply “stores.” As of 1940, the second floor was being used as a school. A 1976 document called the “Montague Street Revitalization” listed a York School, as well as an antique store. As of 1967m it was the Plymouth Pharmacy. For the 27 years prior to 1995, the first floor was the Promenade Restaurant, a staple of the area. It even had its own postcards!

84 Montague Street, 1967. Photo courtesy NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

Eventually it closed and the space became available. That caught the eye of Greg Markman, who opened Caffe Buon Gusto up the block in 1992 (he sold his interest in it over a decade ago). Markman teamed up with Joe Secondino, who was an accountant at ABC and with whom he’s been friends with since they were seventh graders at JHS 281 (now IS 281) in Bensonhurst, and, on May 15, 1995, opened Heights Café on the corner of Montague and Hicks.
Joe Secondino and Greg Markman. Photo by Evan Bindelglass

While they run the day-to-day, Markman’s father Martin and brother Glenn (the real estate brains) are also partners in the restaurant. Greg Markman always loved the corner and said it needed “something special.” Since then (with the exception of a closure from this January to April for a remodeling and menu sprucing up), they’ve been serving “something for everyone.” “We love our customers,” he said. “[Some of them see the restaurant as] an extension of their living room.” Secondino called them “friends.”

They have had some celebrity customers. Paul Giamatti stops in sometimes, as do Jennifer Connelly and her husband, Paul Bettany. Also spotted have been Leonardo DiCaprio, Anne Hathaway, Willem Dafoe, and Susan Sarandon. Markman even got a photo with “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” star and Victoria’s Secret model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.
Greg Markman with Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. Photo courtesy Greg Markman.

What The Owners Say To Order:
Fried Chicken at Heights Cafe. Photo by Evan Bindelglass

The Southern Boneless Fried Chicken with mashed potatoes, gravy, and coleslaw. If you are worried about boneless chicken being dry, stop. It isn’t dry and it is full of flavor, as are the mashed potatoes. It is so easy to go wrong with coleslaw, but this was very well-balanced. If you want a little extra creaminess, it’s on the bottom. The  gravy is wonderful, but everything else is so great already that you might forget to make use of it. Try to remember.

Markman and Secondino also own Dellarocco’s Pizza around the corner (214 Hicks Street – website). They opened that in 2012. In 1976, it was listed as a hair stylist and from 1981 to 2011 it was home to the gift shop Overtures.

Dellarocco’s Pizza. Photo by Evan Bindelglass

ARCHIVE DOCUMENTS: 1930 Certificate of Occupancy | 1940 Certificate of Occupancy | 1972 Certificate of Occupancy (PDFs)

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/70104

As most, if not all, of you know by now, Robin Williams died today. The photo at left, by Photographer’s Mate Airman Milosz Reterski (Navy NewsStand) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons, was taken while he was “entertain[ing] the crew of USS Enterprise (CVN 65) during a holiday special hosted by the United Service Organization (USO).” His shirt says “I [heart] New York” in Arabic.

I’m late on this sad news, but my friend, fellow Brooklynite, fellow Episcopalian, and fellow blogger John Wirenius has a very good post, with two superb videos. You can read it here.

Addendum: my friend and erstwhile LeBoeuf, Lamb colleague Richard Cole kindly sent me his personal reminiscence of Robin Williams, originally written for his siblings, which he has generously allowed me to share:

In the late ’70s or so, Mom came down to NYC, where Doug and I took her to the Improv comedy club on her birthday, December 28. After a few comics, a sudden roar greeted the surprise appearance of Robin Williams, and I believe that during his hilarious set while riffing on birthdays, I pointed to Mom and he acknowledged it.

During the last few years, I had numerous private as well as small group discussions and laughs with Robin, mostly at/near 142 Throckmorton Theatre in Mill Valley, where he often did sets and improv for fun, allowing and encouraging others to shine too. He often sat in back, spurring younger stand ups with his barking laugh. On one such occasion, a couple shyly interrupted our conversation near backstage for a joint photo on their wedding night. Happy to oblige, he told them each: “Pretend to be surprised tonight!”. Only a few months ago, Robin and I walked yakking alone for two blocks to a restaurant after the Tuesday Night comedy show, discussing his Broadway show, NYC apartment and so forth. He headed the table of comics and others, and asked me to sit down next to him. For 45 minutes or an hour, we had coffee, a bite to eat and conversation. He had grown up and lived nearby, and had struggled with everything from heart surgery, depression, substance abuse and domestic challenges, usually working frenetically while remaining accessible and friendly. I saw him do a very edgy, riotous set recently and a couple of generous improv sets with rookies; when asked how he would like to be greeted in heaven, he said he hoped that he would have a front row seat and God would say “Two Jews walk into a bar . . .”. Etc., etc. Many if not most comics seem to have depressive personalities, from which paradoxically the humor explodes — think of Jewish comics in the shadow of the Holocaust. He always leapt easily among standup, improv, comic and dramatic, serious acting, with some great movies that were not meant to evoke any mirth. It may be silly to reminisce through my little lens when he knew thousands of more important people better (everybody knew him and vice versa) but he knew my name and always said hello, and it is a good indication of the manner in which Robin affected so many.

Source: Self-Absorbed Boomer
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/tzVM/~3/SqloaVjvrY0/robin-williams-1951-2014.html

The Art of Brooklyn Film Festival returns for a week of “Brooklyn‐born, Brooklyn-based and Brooklyn-centric films,” with many screened at Brooklyn Heights Cinema and St Francis College’s Founder’s Hall. Highlights include Bodies in Irreversible Detriment, starring Breaking Bad‘s Mark Margolis, and New York Dolls’ David Johansen; Balance, starring Stephen Baldwin; and Spoke: A Short Film About NYC Bikes by BHB’s Heather Quinlan. There will also be midnight screenings at Brooklyn Heights Cinema of PAN, described as “a sexy take on Peter Pan,” and Lapsus, “a creepy psychological thriller set in a Brooklyn laundromat.”

Tickets and schedules are available here, and you can watch a trailer here. See you at the movies!

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/66994

Hail Freedonia!!

It’s the 15th year for Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Movies with a View which will kick off with the Marx Brothers’ Duck Soup on July 10 on the Harbor View Lawn.

All films this year have an “animal” theme…sorta…

7/10 – Duck Soup
“I’m in a hurry! To the House of Representatives! Ride like fury! If you run out of gas, get ethyl. If Ethel runs out, get Mabel! Now step on it!”
The Marx Brothers take fictional Europe in this Depression-era classic. To stay afloat, the small, bankrupt country of Freedonia must borrow a huge sum of cash from wealthy widow Mrs. Teasdale (Margaret Dumont). But there are strings attached to her loan: she insists on replacing the current president with crazy Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho Marx) and mayhem erupts. [G] Short: Silo by David Soll

7/17 – Sharknado
Description TBD. [NR]
Short: Phoebe’s Birthday Cheeseburger by Will Lennon

7/24- Fantastic Mr. Fox
“One of those slovenly farmers is probably wearing my tail for a necktie.”
One of Roald Dahl’s classics hits the big screen in Wes Anderson’s quirky, stop-motion animated film. Mr. Fox (voiced by George Clooney) and his thieving ways are threatened by three mean farmers, but his friends, family and neighbors come to his aid. [G] Short: Font Men by Dress Code

7/31 – Beetlejuice
“I’ve seen The Exorcist about a hundred and sixty-seven times, and it keeps gettin’ funnier every time I see it!”
A young couple (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) lead an idyllic country life until they accidentally drown and become trapped in their old house as ghosts. This ghost couple attempts to scare off a family of cosmopolitan New Yorkers that move into their home, eventually enlisting the help of an insane poltergeist, Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton). A darkly funny vision of the afterlife that made director Tim Burton a household name. [PG] Short: Passer Passer by Louis Morton

8/7 – Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
“Careful Maggie, your claws are showing.”
The Tennessee Williams play comes to life as Maggie (Elizabeth Taylor) and Brick (Paul Newman) duke it out while celebrating his the 65th birthday of his father, Big Daddy (Burl Ives). The temperatures are high, but the tensions are higher in this classic. [PG] Short: Unlocking the Truth by Luke Meyer

8/14 – Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
“All the rappers, they got names like that: Snoop Doggy Dogg, Ice Cube, Q-Tip, Method Man. My favorite was always Flavor Flav from Public Enemy. He got the funky fresh fly flavor.”
Hip hop, samurai culture, and italian gangsters come together in this oddly quiet action movie by independent spirit Jim Jarmusch. Ghost Dog (Forest Whitaker) is a reclusive hitman who lives by a strict samurai code. When his mafia employers turn against him, Ghost Dog must go to war against an gang of old-school Italians that simply do not understand his ways. [R] Short: The Roper by Ewan McNicol, Anna Sandilands

8/21 – The Birds
“The very concept is unimaginable. Why, if that happened, we wouldn’t stand a chance! How could we possibly hope to fight them?”
Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece of horror, mystery, and slow-burning suspense. A beautiful socialite (Tippi Hedren) visits the sunny town of Bodega Bay, where the weekend’s peace is shattered by a series of inexplicable bird attacks, one more violent than the next. These attacks grow increasingly bigger and more gruesome until the entire town finds itself under siege from above. [PG] Short: Woodhouse by Fred Rowson

8/28 – Public Vote!
As is tradition, Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy and Syfy invite the public to vote on the last film of the summer. Stay tuned to www.brooklynbridgepark.org for details throughout the summer.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/67052

Brooklyn Heights Cinema’s Kenn Lowy has set up an Indiegogo campaign to help save the theater. No, it’s not to buy the building, it’s to help the theater convert from 35mm film projection to digital. “If we don’t make the transition to digital,” Lowy warns, “we lose the opportunity to show some exciting films. In fact, every new film.” The upgrade in technology is juxtaposed against the Mom and Pop-ness of the cinema. “I’m at the theater almost every day, and if someone has a problem with the temperature … or maybe even the sound, all they have to do is come out and talk to me or a member of my staff, and we’ll have it fixed right away. Try that at your neighborhood multiplex.”

Lowy hopes to raise $30,000 by the end of March, and has perks/rewards set up for donations starting at $25. $150 gets you a date night package; and $1,000 gets you a private screening for you and 150 of your closest friends. But any amount is appreciated. “We hope you’ll donate whatever you can, so we can keep showing great films digitally.”

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/65847

FOX 5 10:00 News spent time in the Heights last night interviewing BHB’s Heather Quinlan about her New York accent documentary, If These Knishes Could Talk. They also did a little man-on-the street action—see if you can spot the locals.

“Knishes” is also available on Amazon.com.

New York News

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/64567

Kenn Lowy, owner of the Brooklyn Heights Cinema, 70 Henry Street (corner of Orange) says he is offering a discount for furloughed federal government employees for the duration of the present government shutdown. If you show your federal employee ID, admission is $10. (The discount doesn’t apply to Friday afternoon matinee showings, for which the regular admission price is $7.)

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/62896

The film’s roots go back to director Amy Nicholson’s love of Coney Island, as it reminded her of her childhood spent near Ocean City, MD—a shore community full of people watchers, Def Leppard blaring from boom boxes, and ride operators calling, “You want to go … faster?!” But it was an article about the end of the Zipper ride that turned her from observer to investigator, delving into the politics behind the changing Coney Island. “I originally wanted to make a film that was an homage to Zipper,” Nicholson said. “But it bothered me that I didn’t understand why the ride was being taken away.” The film then grew into an exploration of the tug-of-war between those who wanted to turn Coney Island into what resembled a seaside Times Square—namely, Joe Sitt, CEO of Thor Equities—and those who strove to retain the park and community, good and bad … with both sides doing what they felt was best.

And while Sitt—a Brooklyn boy who grew up near Coney Island and who named Thor Equities after the Marvel Comics character—might be an easy target as the film’s villain, Nicholson says it’s not that easy. “I guess the villain is the process and the politics. But I don’t point to him as the bad guy. I don’t think he did Coney Island any favors, but I promised to treat him fairly, and I did. He doesn’t see anything wrong in what he did,” as shown in the scene where Sitt happily listed all retailers that he wanted to add, from a Ripley’s Believe It Or Not, to a Coldstone Creamery.

Zipper also stars a cast of characters from the neighborhood, including the ride operators themselves. According to Nicholson, “The guys who ran it could tell by the sound whether it was working well or not. It’s a contraption! And it was invented to make people scream. I interviewed the ride’s inventor, who said, ‘If people scream, it’s a good thing.’” Zipper the ride now resides in Honduras; to see Zipper the film, visit IFC Center’s site for screening dates and times.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/61594

Local filmmaker Andy Arrow recently completed a documentary called Mettle, about people who earn their living by collecting recyclables, and how they are “cited, or even arrested, for picking up trash from the sidewalk.” Arrow has a Kickstarter campaign underway to “raise awareness and to fund a premiere event.” Drop a couple bucks if you’d like to help, and let us know here where you come down on the issue.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/59971

On Wednesday at the Packer Collegiate Institute, students and faculty listened raptly as two members of the Central Park Five shared their stories of being arrested, convicted, and jailed for the infamous 1989 Central Park jogger assault—a crime they didn’t commit.

Raymond Santana and Yusef Salaam spoke to members of the Packer community for two hours, explaining how they came to be arrested and convicted, and later exonerated.

The event was coordinated by Alice Lurain and Sarah Strauss, who teach chemistry and history respectively in Packer’s Upper School. Lurain teaches an elective in forensic chemistry, Strauss one in criminal justice, and last year, they began to talk about a way to offer inter-disciplinary work to their students.

“Sarah and I had spoken last spring,” said Lurain, “about getting a speaker who could talk about the use of forensic evidence, possibly in exonerations, as a way to begin our collaboration between our classes so that the students would have a more concrete understanding of why it was important to examine science and the law as fallible human institutions that can be improved if we understand their limitations.”

And at a conference last summer, Lurain found exactly the speaker she was looking for.

“I attended the American Chemical Society meeting,” said Lurain, “and there happened to be a symposium co-sponsored by the Division of Science and Law and the Innocence Project. I heard three exonerees, one of whom was Raymond Santana, speak, along with a number of forensic chemists and other people involved in law enforcement. That prompted Sarah and me to contact the Innocence Project back in August about the possibility of having Raymond visit Packer.”

The Innocence Project suggested that Salaam visit as well, a suggestion Lurain eagerly accepted.

“Raymond’s story really struck me, particularly because he was so young at the time of his arrest,” she said. “We had no idea that their case would begin to get so much press with the release of the documentary and the book.”

The film is The Central Park Five a documentary produced by Ken Burns, his daughter Sarah, and David McMahon; it  was released last fall in the United States and is currently showing at the IFC Center.

Joining Santana and Salaam was Edwin Grimsley, a case analyst at the Innocence Project, which is based in downtown Manhattan.

“Can you imagine,” Salaam began, “being at school, leaving to go hang out with your friends, doing what normal kids do, and then a portion of them don’t show up because they were kidnapped by the police department?”

A naïve teenager, he learned that the police were looking for him, and his first instinct, he said, was to go to the precinct and tell them he hadn’t done anything.

“It was a no-brainer for me,” he said. “’I’m going to tell them, and my name will be off this list.’ I came home seven years later.”

Arrested at age 15, Salaam spent five and a half years in prison and three more on parole before being exonerated in 2002.  Santana was 14 when he began his five-year term.

“One decision,” Santana told the Upper School students gathered in Packer’s chapel, “going to hang out with my classmates, some guys from the neighborhood, changed my life.” 

Both Santana and Salaam were classified as sex offenders and had to register with local precincts every time they moved.  Following their exoneration and the publication of Sarah Burns’ book on which the movie is based, the men feel that they have been able to re-claim some pieces of their lives.

“It’s awesome for people to embrace us,” said Santana. “It says how far we’ve come as a city.”

Salaam concurred. “We’ve been welcomed back, back into society.”

Neither man, though, was so generous that he’s put what happened wholly behind him. Santana still feels the sting of losing his mother to cancer while he was incarcerated and of her never knowing that he’d been exonerated.

Salaam spoke bitterly of Mayor Koch and Donald Trump. Koch was captured on camera at the time proclaiming gleefully, “We got ‘em!”, while Trump took out full-page ads in city newspapers calling for the death penalty to be reinstated so that the five convicted boys could be executed.

Despite the exoneration, the city has never publicly apologized to the Central Park Five or admitted any wrongdoing in the handling of their cases. The other men who were convicted and exonerated are Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, and Kharey Wise.

Said Salaam, “We channel our rage into coming to schools and talking to students.”

“We love these engagements because of you guys,” Santana told the students. “Nobody wanted to invest in us, and we decided to invest in you, by telling our story.”

Disclosure: The author has taught at Packer since 1998. 

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/54966

The weather forecast is encouraging, but with so many institutions, like Bargemisic, which is in good physical shape but still lacks Con Ed power, coping with the aftermath of the Sandy/nor’easter one-two punch, what is there to do if you’re in town? There’s the penultimate Smorgasburg of the season this Sunday, November 11 from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Tobacco Warehouse, Water Street at New Dock Street in the Fulton Ferry Historic District (I once described it as being in DUMBO and caught holy heck from the Fulton Ferry Landing Association). The final Smorgasburg of the season will be the following Sunday, November 18.

Brooklyn Heights Cinema, 70 Henry Street (corner of Orange) will be showing The Sessions and A Late Quartet. Showtimes are here.

The Brooklyn Historical Society, 128 Pierrepont Street (corner of Clinton) will have another of its tours of the Society’s historic building on Saturday, November 10, starting at 3:00 p.m. Details are here. Looking ahead to Thursday, November 15, starting at 7:00 p.m., BHS will present a lecture by independent scholar and author Andrew Coe, “Spilt Milk: the Bloody Food Rackets of 20th Century New York,” about how gangsters controlled much of food distribution in New York City in the first half of the past century. Details are here.

Know of anything else interesting happening in Brooklyn Heights or nearby this weekend or in the near future? Add a comment to this post.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/51642

Brooklyn Bridge Park is closed until further notice. The Brooklyn Historical Society will be closed through Tuesday, November 6. Fortunately, Bargemusic didn’t sustain any serious damage, but repairs to an outside sprinkler pipe will keep it closed through this weekend. However, Brooklyn Heights Cinema, 70 Henry Street (corner of Orange), which remained open through Sandy’s ravages thanks to the dedication of owner Kenn Lowy, will have its normal schedule of shows. Looking ahead to this coming Wednesday, November 7, the Cinema will present songs and a reading by Steve Witt from his new novel, The Street Singer. And there’s more…

The Troupers of St. Francis College will present three performances (Friday and Saturday at 8:00 p.m.; Sunday at 2:00 p.m.) of Yasmina Reza’s award winning play God of Carnage, about inter-domestic strife in Cobble Hill (image, taken from the Broadway production, from The New York Times. The performances will be at the College’s auditorium, 180 Remsen Street.

If you want to to help people who were affected badly by Sandy, our neighbors in Red Hook are taking donations of food and other essentials at 767 Hicks Street; for more information see here. Brooklyn Bridge Park may need additional cleanup help; watch the Park’s Facebook page for announcements. The Red Cross has other volunteer opportunities.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/50980

The Brooklyn Heights Cinema continues to provide refuge from the storm, as owner Ken Lowy discusses in a profile in today’s New York Observer. He tells the newspaper, “We all live in the area, I’m 10 minutes away, so why not.”

Lowy says he wasn’t about to let Hurricane Sandy shut him down: “We were open last year for Hurricane Irene and we got a lot of people in, so we figured we would do it again. People get cabin fever. It’s good to get out if you can. It’s all locals (and) everybody’s walking. If you can stay open, it’s smart because you have a captive audience.” See the full Observer story here, and the Cinema’s schedule here. (Photo: (remster_9/Flickr)

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/50627

While many, if not most, local businesses will be closed tomorrow (Monday, October 29), Brooklyn Heights Cinema owner Kenn Lowy tells us the shows will go on at the Cinema, 70 Henry Street(corner of Orange). He’s adding a special 3:00 p.m. matinee. The Master will be showing at 3:00, 5:15, and 8:00; The Other Son will show at 3:00, 5:00, 7:00, and 9:00. Pity Kenn couldn’t get Key Largo on short notice.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/50046

Reminder: Tonight, Monday, October 1, at 6:45, Council Member Stephen Levin hosts a free screening of “Gasland”—Josh Fox’s documentary about the Halliburton-developed drilling technology known as “fracking,” or hydraulic fracturing—at the Brooklyn Heights Cinema, 70 Henry Street. The movie is also airing on HBO throughout 2012.

More info: “When filmmaker Josh Fox is asked to lease his land for drilling, he embarks on a cross-country odyssey uncovering a trail of secrets, lies and contamination. A recently drilled nearby Pennsylvania town reports that residents are able to light their drinking water on fire. This is just one of the many absurd and astonishing revelations of a new country called ‘Gasland.’ Part verite travelogue, part expose, part mystery, part bluegrass banjo meltdown, part showdown.”

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/48714

Fantastic fun! A tilt-shift film shot in Brooklyn by German filmmaker Joerg Daiber. Below the jump, check out the locations in Brooklyn Bridge Park (heavily featured), Downtown, DUMBO, Brooklyn’s Main Public Library, Grand Army Plaza and Coney Island. Read details of the “making of” here.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/46727

The final movie in the Syfy “Movies With a View” series at Brooklyn Bridge Park, is tonight, Thursday, August 30, with DJs kicking things off at 6 p.m. at the Harbor View Lawn on Pier 1 in Brooklyn Bridge Park. The nominees for the public vote finale were: “Splendor in the Grass,” “Across the Universe,” “Sunset Boulevard” and “Clueless.”

And surprise! (not so much). The winner is… “Clueless,” the 1995 hit teen parody starring Alicia Silverstone, Stacey Dash and (the late) Brittany Murphy. The movie screens at sunset.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/46637

According to The Brooklyn Paper, Kenn Lowy, owner of the Brooklyn Heights Cinema, has decided to apply to convert it to not-for-profit status. This will give it the flexibility to apply for arts grants and accept tax deductible donations, which will be important given the need to install new digital projectors in order to show movies that are now being released only in that format. It will also enable the Cinema to present more works by local filmmakers as well as concerts by up-and-coming musicians.

The building now housing the Cinema is slated for demolition, although the landowner will provide space for a one screen theater in the new building to be constructed on the site. Lowy is looking for space for a one screen annex to continue presenting movies while the new building is under construction. we’ll keep you advised of developments.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/46526

You can vote for the final movie in the Syfy Movies With a View series at Brooklyn Bridge Park, to be shown this Thursday, August 30, starting at 6:00 p.m. at the Harbor View Lawn on Pier 1, Brooklyn Bridge Park. The nominees are: Splendor in the Grass (seems appropriate for the venue); Across the Universe (Ah! The view!); Sunset Boulevard (you can watch the sun set as DJ Geko Jones of Que Bajo does the pre-movie sounds); and Clueless (the default choice?). You may cast your ballot here; please be prompt, as the polls close soon.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/46381

Brooklyn Bridge Park’s 13th-annual weekly summer series “Syfy’s Movies With A View” is sadly winding down, with just one more flick following this Thursday’s, which will be a viewer’s choice. On August 23, join the masses on the Pier 1 Harbor View Lawn for “Unforgiven,” which screens at sunset. Beginning at 6 p.m., DJ Emch Subatomic (of Subatomic Sound System) will be spinning; while the short film following the main event is “The Hunter” by Marieka Walsh. More info here.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/46176

Syfy’s “Movies With A View” will feature the Robert Redford and Jane Fonda G-rated comedy “Barefoot In The Park” tomorrow night, Thursday August 9… with only three more films left in the 13th-annual summer series. The accompanying short film is “Love Competition by Brent Hoff, with music from DJ Still Life. The event takes place at Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 1 Harbor View Lawn, beginning at 6 p.m., with the movie at sunset (just after 8 p.m.).

As usual, no lawn chairs, no pooches. There’s a 40% chance of scattered thunderstorms Thursday, with an evening low of a cool 73°.

Coming 8/16: “The Big Chill”; 8/23: “Unforgiven”; and 8/30, the final movie of the summer is selected by public vote.

More information is here. Movies With A View is presented by the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy and the Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation. Shorts are curated by BAMcinématek.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/45248

Yesterday evening your correspondent took his own advice and saw Farewell My Queen at the Brooklyn Heights Cinema. Owner Kenn Lowy was at the ticket booth, and gave me the happy news that the Cinema will be occupying its present quarters at 70 Henry Street (corner of Orange) at least through October. We’ll keep you posted on his search for a temporary location to last until the new building is completed.

As for the movie, I’ll repeat here what I wrote in a comment on an earlier post: Not heavy on plot, but the acting was superb, as were the atmospherics. It conveyed a convincing impression of what it may have been like to be part of the royal court at Versailles as the Revolution inexorably built toward its climax.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/45187

The second annual Art of Brooklyn Film Festival, August 4-12, will feature 45 premieres from all over the world, all with links to Brooklyn. It will launch on Saturday the 4th with a free screening of Steven Seagal’s 1991 cult classic “Out For Justice,” complete with a Seagal look-alike contest. Movies will be screened at St. Francis College Theater, 180 Remsen Street, in Brooklyn Heights, a stone’s throw from Borough Hall.

Joseph Shahadi, executive director of the festival, says that the festival’s goal is to include everyone, from Boerum Hill to Bergen Beach, Fort Greene to the Flatlands, in a major industry event: “For us, it’s only Brooklyn when you count all of it. This isn’t about hipster bashing, but now that the borough has become an international center for art and culture, excluding some people because they live in the ‘wrong’ neighborhood is unacceptable,” he says. “Everyone is invited to this party.”

Also among the selections are a Turkish film inspired by Brooklyn’s diversity, an Italian documentary about a Hasidic rapper and a Claymation short by a young animator born & raised in Australia’s Brooklyn, in New South Wales. Celebrity hosts will emcee the screenings, including documentary filmmaker Annette Danto and actor Eric Mabius of “Ugly Betty” and “Resident Evil.”

“I have always loved Brooklyn,” Mabius says. “It is one of the most creative and productive environments in the world. The whole idea of bringing new and classic Brooklyn together, nobody else is doing that.”

Heather Quinlan, whose “If These Knishes Could Talk” debuted at last year’s festival, will be one of many award-winning female documentary makers on a panel discussing their film work. Special events will also include talkback with filmmakers, after parties featuring Brooklyn bands, nightly discounts at area bars and restaurants and more.

See the full schedule here.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/44998

This Thursday’s “Syfy Movies With A View” at Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 1 Harbor View Lawn is “Clueless,” the 1995 hit teen parody starring Alicia Silverstone, Stacey Dash and (the late) Brittany Murphy. DJs Ronin & Mosart212 will kick off the evening at 6 p.m., the movie screens at sunset, with a follow-up short “Once It Started It Could Not End Otherwise,” by Kelly Sears.

In case of rain, films are shown in the white tent at the park entrance at Furman & Old Fulton Streets. Chairs are not permitted. More info here.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/44681

The season opener for Brooklyn Bridge Park’s “Movies With A View” Thursday, July 5, drew thousands to the Pier 1 Harbor View Lawn to see “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial.”

Sen. Daniel Squadron, BP Marty Markowitz and BPPC Executive Director Nancy Webster were all on hand, according to McBrooklyn, which also provides the photo from MK Metz. Also in the audience was actor Robert MacNaughton, who played Elliott’s brother Michael in “E.T.” Musical entertainment was provided by Brooklyn Radio DJs, with a short film, “CatCam,” by Seth Keal, who was also in the crowd.

Next up: “To Kill a Mockingbird,” on Thursday, July 12. Info is here.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/43762

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/43686

The 13th annual “Movies With A View” series, sponsored by Syfy, begins its 2012 season this Thursday, July 5, with “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial.” DJ Ayres from Brooklyn Radio will kick off the evening at 6 p.m., with the FREE flick beginning at sunset.

The location for “Movies” is the Pier 1 Harbor View Lawn. A bike valet is provided by Transportation Alternatives. The summer series will continue each Thursday through August 30. For the complete schedule, see here.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/43651

Marilyn appears in 2008 film "Rag Doll."

Marilyn J. Beck, a longtime Remsen St. resident and active member of the Heights Players, died at Long Island College Hospital Saturday night. She was 80. Marilyn hailed from Indiana, where she attended St. Mary’s College and Ball State University. She worked for many years as a New York City public school teacher, retiring in 1989, but devoted much of her time to studying acting at HB Studio, in addition to pursuing African dance and ballet. A member of the Screen Actors Guild, her credits included “Going in Style” (1979), “A Beautiful Mind” (2001), and a 2003 episode of “Chappelle’s Show,” in which she played the wife of Chappelle’s blind, white supremacist character Clayton Bigsby.

Marilyn kicks up her heels in "Waiting in the Wings" at the Heights Players. Photo by M. Hermann

Marilyn appears opposite Dave Chappelle in 2003.

As a literacy advocate, she organized a program of dramatized short story readings that toured local libraries and nursing homes in the early 1990s, and volunteered with the SAG BookPALS program. Local audiences may remember her collaboration with legendary jazz violinist Noel Pointer on the production “Loving Henry,” a musical based on the Henry Ward Beecher adultery scandal of the 1870s. Marilyn was a fixture at the Heights Players, appearing in countless roles over the years. Dedicated to her craft, in 2005 she collapsed backstage during a production of “The Women,” but insisted on finishing the show before being brought to the hospital. Despite failing health, she appeared on stage as recently as last month in a tribute to Heights Players founding member John Bourne.

Scene from independent film "El Delivery" in 2004.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/43388

Tomorrow evening (Friday, June 1) the Brooklyn Film Festival starts at the Brooklyn Heights Cinema with screenings of Brooklyn Castle (8:00 p.m., Cinema 2, sold out) and Rose (photo) (8:30 p.m., Cinema 1, tickets available through the Festival website linked above). The Festival continues through the weekend, the following week and weekend, finishing on Sunday, June 10. A complete schedule is on the linked Festival website.

Several events will be taking place at Brooklyn Bridge Park this weekend. The World Science Festival–Science on Site will be on Pier 1 Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Also on Saturday, professional and amateur astronomers will be on Pier 1 for a stargazing party from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. On Sunday afternoon, from 3:00 to 5:30, Walt Whitman fans should gather at the Granite Prospect on Pier 1 for a marathon reading of the Brooklyn Bard’s “Song of Myself”.

On Saturday afternoon, starting at 3:00 p.m., gather at the Brooklyn Historical Society, 128 Pierrepont Street (corner of Clinton) for a walking tour, “Hiding in Plain Sight: A Walk Down Pierrepont Street, Brooklyn Heights”. Tickets ($8; $5 for BHS members) may be purchased, and there are more details, here.

Don’t forget the final two performances of Theater 2020′s production of Shakepeare’s A Comedy of Errors: Friday and Saturday at 8:00 p.m., at the Cranberry Street Theater Space, Assumption Church, 55 Cranberry Street.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/41508